Connection-counter for telephone-lines.



Patented Nay], I900.

Inventor; @Fw/r/Ze bv his Aw! .1 RL alt 4| l. n m K m c. E. SCBIBNER. I GDNNEGTION COUNTER FOR TELEPHONE LINES.

(Application filed Jan. 7, 1899.)

(No Model.)

Witnesses:

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. SCRIBNER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIeNo To THE WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF sAME PLACE.

CONNECTION-COUNTER FOR TELEPHONE-LINES sPEcIrIcATIoN forming part of Letters Patent no. 648,533, dated May 1, 1906,

Application filed January 7, 1899. Serial No. 701,501. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLEs E. SCRIBNER,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Connection Counters for Telephone-Lines, (Case No. 472,) of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

This invention concerns the counting or registration at a subscribers telephone-substation of conversations initiated at the station.

It consists in a counter, means associated with the circuits of theline for positively actuating the counter, and a controlling agency at the central office, the object of theirnprovement being to prevent accidental changes of circuit from eifecting registration.

The improved counter comprises an actuating magnet for operating the counting mechanism and a controlling-magnet for preventing the operation of the actuating-magnet, the operating and controlling magnets being associated with the line in circuits whereby the controlling-magnet is normally excited, and a switch at the central office for controlling the magnets independently to render the controlling-magnet inert and the actuating-mag'net operative.

The invention is especially adapted for. use on party-lines provided with selective signals and is illustrated in the drawing hereto attached in its application to such lines.

The invention is designed, primarily, for use with the circuits and apparatus commonly known as the common battery automatic signal system, such as is described at length in Patent No. 596,630, of January 4, 1898, to myself, and in association with party-lines with selective signals like those patented in Patent No. 555,725, of March 3, 1896, to A. S. Hibbard.

In the drawing a single telephone-line is represented, terminating in calling and connecting appliances in the switchboard at a central office and provided with four stations equipped with selective signal-bells. The complete mechanism, including a connection- 5o counter, is illustrated at only one of the stations, that at the other stations being merely indicated.

The telephone-line, consisting of wires 1 and 2, leads from the stations A, B, C, and D to the switch contacts of a spring-jack c in the switchboard, from which point the conductors are prolonged through the switchcontacts of a cut-off relay f to earth and to the free pole of a grounded battery g, respec tively, the magnet of a relay h, controlling a line-signal c in the switchboard, being interposed in the conductor 2 of the circuit. The actuating-magnet of the cut-ofi relay f is in cluded in a portion of a local-battery circuit which terminates in a normally-open contact piece in the spring-jack 0. Pairs of plugs 7c and 7c are furnished in the switchboard for uniting lines. These plugs form the terminals of a plug-circuit 3 4, which is bridged by a conductor, including a'source of current Z, the windings of a repeating-coil m being interposed in the conductors 3 and 40f the circuit in a way to maintain the inductive continuity of the'plug-circuit,while maintaining the conductive independence of lines united through the plug-circuit with respect to the source of current. The pole of the battery Z, which is connected with the conductor 3 of the plug-circuit, is grounded. Relays n and 'n' are placed in the path of current in conductor 4E, one at each side of the interposed repeating-coil windings, which control supervisory signals 0 and 0, associated with the plugs k and 70, respectively, in circuits which cooperate with the circuits,including the magnets of the cut-off relays, of lines with which the plugs are connected to excite the relays and the'supervisorysignals. A group of calling-keys is provided to direct current for selective signaling through the calling-plug k in accordance with Patent No. 555,725 before mentioned, one of the keys being adapted to apply positive current to one of the line conductors, another being arranged to apply negative current to the same line conductor, and the remaining two being adapted to perform similar functions with respect to the other line conductor. A listening-key is also furnished for the operator to connect her telephone with the plugcircuit.

At the subscribers station,.as A, a receiy-' in g-telephone p and a transmitting-telephone cluded in a ground branch -6 -from one of the h line conductors, two bells responsive to current of opposite polarity being connected in the two ground branches from each of the line conductors.

The connection counting appliance, whicln is shown at stationA, consists of acounting-H train t and actuatingmagnet 25' therefor,

adapted to move the counting-train to regis' ter one unit in each pulsation of current through the magnet and a relay The relay is connected in a shunt-circuit? about the telephone and transmitter. It should be of high impedance to avoid shunting of telephonic current through it. The actuatingmagnet is connected in a ground branch 8 from the line conductor 1 of the line, the

constitutes the controlling-magnet hereinbefore referred to, being interposed in thecircuit. The continuity of the path through this. magnet t is also controlled by switchcontacts 15 t of the telephone-switch, the circuit being open when the telephone is on its hook. LThe controlling switch or mechanism at the central office for controlling and actuating this counting appliance consists in a key a of two levers, each with a normal and an altern ate contact-point. The levers it and u?, with their normal resting-contacts, are interposed in the conductors 3 and 40f the plugcircuit leading to the answering-plug, respectively. The alternate contact of lever to is connected with the freepole of battery Z. The effect of this key when depressed is thus to apply a source of current to the line-wire 1 while disconnecting all sources of current iron; the normally-excited line-wire 2;.

In the normal or idle condition of the line the removal of the telephone from its switch for use permits current to flow fromthe battery. 9 through the bridge, including the telephone, to the conductor 1 of the line; but the current in this bridge excites the controllingmagnet t and deprives the magnet 25 of ourrent,thus preventing it from operating the counting mechanism. When in response to acall thus initiated the operator inserts the answering-plug k in the terminal spring-jack of the line, the source of current 9 is disconnected from line-wire 2; but the source. of

current Zis applied instead, so that the excitement of magnet t is maintained. No accidental condition which can arise in ordinary practice can result in the simultaneous application of current to line-wire l and the breaking of all circuits of line-wire 2 of sufficiently-lowresistance to permit the opera-' tionof magnet 25 At any suitable stage ;in the act of making connection the operator I may depress the key it, however, thereby applying current to the line-wire 1 and sever ing the normal ground-return of wire 2, by

which act the magnet 25 is deprived of current and caused to close the circuit of magnet i, while the latter is excited by a current in the line-wire 1. The user of the telephone cannot prevent this act, inasmuch as the replacement of his telephone on its switch would be indicated to the operator by the su-,

pervisory signal 0. I A feature of novelty in this invention consists in the use of the magnet t in a bridge of the metallic line-circuit controlling the current through magnet t, which is designed to operate the"registering or other mechanism. During the existence of current in the metallic circuit, which is the normal condi-,

; cuit at the central oftice, while current is apswitch-contacts of the relay t which thus,

plied to the line for operating the magnet i. This feature may of course be made use of in connection with appliances at the subs-ta tion other than counting mechanism, which must be protected from the normal-current circulating in the line, but which are designed for operation by currents applied to one side of the line only.

The invention is defined in the following claims: f

1. The combination with a metallic circuit telephone-line and a battery applied to one line conductor thereof and a ground connec tion with the other, of mechanismand anactuating-rnagnet therefor at the substation, in aground branchfrom the normally-grounded side of the line, a bridge of the metallic cir cuit including the telephone, a controllingmagnet in the normal path of current in the line-circuit controlling the current through said magnetinthe ground branch, and .a key at the central office adapted to break the battery connection with one limb-of the line and apply a grounded battery to the other limb of the line, as described.

2. The combination with a telephone-line and normal battery connections therewith, of a connection count'er at the substation and an actuating-magnet therefor,a controlling-magnet controlling the current through saidactuating-magnet, said controlling-magnet be- II S ing normally excited while the telephone is net therefor in a ground branch of the line;

a controlling-magnet in a bridge of theline adapted to break the circuit of the counteractuating magnet when excited, and keys at the central office adapted to break the normal battery connection and to apply a source of current to the other line conductor, as described.

In witness whereof i hereunto subscribe my name this 10th day of December, A. D. 1898;

CHARLES E. SCRIBNER;

Witnesses:

ELLA EDLER, ELIZABETH SIBLEY. 

